It seemed Oikawa had hit the exact words Iwaizumi had wanted to say himself. He immediately got angry and, completely ignoring the fact that there were still hundreds of spectators in the arena, lunged straight at Oikawa and started wrestling with him.
For a moment, the fans who had been about to leave all stopped in their tracks and turned to watch.
"Quick, get this on camera. We can put it in the magazine."
The nearby photographers quickly seized the opportunity and began snapping pictures of Oikawa and Iwaizumi brawling. The entire arena suddenly grew even livelier.
"I didn't expect you to beat Date Tech, and with such a complete victory too."
"Looks like I really underestimated you before."
Yui Michimiya wrapped both hands around Hank's arm and said it with a smile. She was genuinely happy now. Seeing Hank make it into the semifinals made her even happier than if her own team had won.
That happiness came straight from the heart. To her, just seeing Hank was already something that made her happy.
"Ding-dong! Detected that the host has completed a match against Date Tech High. Spike +5, Dig +3, Set +4!"
Just as Hank was wondering how he was supposed to deal with Yui Michimiya, the system's voice rang in his ear. The rewards from the match against Date Tech had successfully arrived. Even though there wasn't any special skill reward this time, getting those attribute points was still pretty good.
As the system prompt faded, Hank immediately felt a batch of new memories appear out of nowhere in his mind.
All of those memories were related to volleyball fundamentals.
The experience that other players could only build up over time through long-term training had all been directly handed to Hank, and this was naturally one of the perks of being a transmigrator. With just two or three more matches, he should undergo another major transformation.
His overall attributes would take a qualitative leap.
"If you can win a ticket to Spring High, then your big sister will grant you one request, how about that?"
"No matter what you want, I'll give it to you."
Yui Michimiya suddenly leaned close to Hank's ear as she spoke, and the atmosphere instantly turned a little ambiguous. Hank ended up coughing several times in a row.
"..."
Feeling rather helpless, Hank headed off in the direction of home. If nothing unexpected happened, the next match would be the semifinal against Karasuno. They had almost certainly already brought Asahi back into the team.
Facing the protagonist team again would probably bring a few changes.
But he would not make any mistakes.
Stepping over Karasuno was the thing he most needed to do.
As for everything else, there was no need to think about it too much.
...
Time passed quickly, and the single day of rest was soon over. Since this was not yet the final, each round of the tournament was basically finished within a single day.
That meant the semifinal also began directly on the next day. The result of this match would determine whether either team could advance to the final. And because today was the semifinal, the number of spectators in the arena was several times greater than before.
The crowd had already climbed to nearly a thousand people, and the entire arena was filled with cheers from several different clubs.
For players who had never participated in a large-scale match before, making mistakes out of nervousness in a setting like this was completely normal.
"This is terrifying. Why are there so many people in the arena today... This is way too scary."
Karasuno had arrived at the venue early. Hinata, standing at the front of the team, wore an expression like he was badly constipated and didn't even dare look toward the stands, afraid that if his emotions surged too much, he might actually faint on the spot.
If he carried that kind of condition into the match, it would definitely affect his performance.
So the members of Karasuno all started trying to comfort Hinata.
"Don't dwell on it. The most important thing now is your mindset. We've already made it to the semifinals. If we can beat Aoba Johsai—"
"Then we'll make it into the final. At that point, a ticket to Spring High will be right in front of us!"
Daichi's face was filled with excitement. What he wanted most was to encourage Hinata and help him calm down, but instead, without realizing it, he nearly made Hinata faint on the spot. After all, for them, a ticket to Spring High was the thing they dreamed about day and night.
The moment he said it out loud, the pressure only got heavier.
"Looks like Asahi's the only one in the best condition right now."
Sugawara said it with a smile. But the moment he placed a hand on Asahi's shoulder, Asahi jumped straight up in fright. His face was deathly pale, and his lips were so dry he looked like a traveler who hadn't had water in ages.
For a moment, unease spread through the entire team.
And right at that moment, Oikawa and Hank walked out of the locker room together. They happened to run into Karasuno head-on, and the two sides looked like sworn enemies meeting face-to-face. Their eyes instantly turned sharp as they began mocking each other.
(End of Chapter)
[100 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/Zukooo]
[Thanks for your support!]